Future Founders Academy

Latin American entrepreneur who co-founded SquadS Ventures in September 2023 to build an alternative model for creating and investing in startups. He is an Endeavor Entrepreneur and previously served as Managing Partner at Newtopia VC, co-founded Torrenegra Accelerate!, led eBay Classifieds in Latam, and founded SegundoHogar.com.

Co-founder and CEO of Kuona AI, an AI solution for the consumer industry; INSEAD MBA and Y Combinator fellow with over 9 years building AI SaaS. Serves as a Core Mentor.

Sergio Almaguer is co-founder and CEO of Yaydoo and currently serves as Chief Product Officer at Paystand. He has more than 15 years of experience in technology companies serving customers in Latin America, the US, and Europe, having led technology, digital marketing, and sales teams and previously worked as an IT consultant and project manager for companies including Microsoft and GE Energy. He holds a Master's degree in Management of Technology and Entrepreneurship from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne and a BSc in Information Technologies from Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM).

CEO and CIO of Koval Capital with nearly 30 years in wealth management; a family-office pioneer in Mexico with board seats in US and UK organizations. Serves as a Program Partner.

CEO of Kolab with 33 years at IBM Mexico as CMO, CHRO and CCO; an independent board member and expert in digital transformation, diversity and inclusion. Serves as a Program Partner.

Head of Strategy at Kolab and a former McKinsey consultant of 7 years; holds BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT and has over a decade building ventures in Sonora. Serves as a Program Partner.

Venture Ambassador at Koval with nearly 8 years connecting the VC ecosystem between Mexico and the US; industrial engineer from Tec de Monterrey and speaker at INCmty. Serves as a Program Partner.

Technology executive and scale-up strategist.

Managing Partner at Kolab Ventures and President of ARTO Group; named one of Forbes Mexico's 30 Business Promises in 2018. Serves as a Core Mentor.

Founder of LEAP with prior roles in financial services and fintech, including at PayPal, where he co-led next-gen financial services and digital currency initiatives, and at Goldman Sachs covering financial technology. He holds a joint Economics and Legal Studies degree from UC Berkeley and is a CFA Charterholder.

Jose Luis Cimental is an Associate at AngelHub, an angel investor network in Mexico, where he works with founders on developing their companies.

Head of Innovation at Kolab Ventures and Program Manager of Future Founders; holds a finance degree from Tec de Monterrey.

Founder of Briq, a leading real estate crowdfunding platform in Mexico, with a background in fintech and venture building. Serves as a Core Mentor.

Leads Startups & VC at AWS, helping founders optimize strategy and scale globally. Listed as an ally.

Program Advisor at Kolab Ventures specializing in venture building, go-to-market and financial strategy.

Technology leader with over two decades building and scaling critical fintech infrastructure; currently CTO at LoanPro, an API-first loan management platform. Listed as an ally.

Founder of Valarix, which uses AI to address the global shortage of accountants, after founding Contaayuda and serving 500 companies. Listed as an ally.

Venture builder with 15 years building and scaling startups; co-founder and CEO of Aventones (sold to BlaBlaCar) and Jetty, and active in operations and growth at Aptuno, Briq.mx and other Innku projects. Serves as a Core Mentor.

Founder of Digital Porters, specializing in taking products from MVP to product-market fit by combining product vision, technical execution and AI integration. Listed as an ally.

Corporate lawyer and entrepreneur with over 15 years advising companies, startups and high-impact projects in Mexico and Latin America; founder of a firm specializing in corporate, technology and entertainment law. Listed as an ally (legal).

Founder and CEO of Savile Row since 2016, with extensive experience in talent recruitment and acquisition strategy. Listed as an ally.

Finance Specialist at Kolab Ventures with 4 years in FP&A and financial analysis; an honors graduate of Tec de Monterrey with an AMIB Figura 3 certification.

Hans Villa is the co-founder and CEO of Nufi, an identity verification platform that uses artificial intelligence, automation, and over 130 data sources to verify individuals and businesses in Mexico. He holds a degree in electronic systems engineering and a master's in business development and innovation, and is pursuing a doctorate in innovation.

Operations Analyst at Kolab Ventures, an honors graduate of Tec de Monterrey specializing in strategic planning and venture development.

CTO of Justos, an insurtech founded in 2020 focused on fairer, faster and more accessible auto insurance. Listed as an ally.

Co-founder and CEO of Bluebox.

Marketing Analyst specializing in content strategy and social media for the startup ecosystem; holds a marketing degree from Universidad de Sonora.

Co-founder of mdrn-ptnrs and Marketing Advisor at Kolab Ventures, with over a decade scaling tech companies across Mexico, the US and LATAM, specializing in go-to-market and innovation communities.

Education Program Manager and lead of Future Founders Academy; graduated from Tec de Monterrey in Business Strategy and Transformation.

Founder of EasyTaxi and former Country Manager of Cabify, now Product Manager at Puntored and a longtime startup mentor. Serves as a Core Mentor.

Sarah Lucena is the Founder and CEO of Mappa, a behavioral intelligence platform that applies voice AI to analyze vocal biomarkers such as speech rate, pause frequency, pitch variability, and language patterns, generating insights into how individuals communicate intent, take ownership, and handle high-stakes situations. Mappa serves more than 100 SMB and enterprise clients across the United States and Latin America. Lucena developed the deep tech product independently prior to raising funding.